Debriefing an Emergency Control Group

Dynamic consulting and training Dynamic consulting and training Dynamic consulting and training

August 20, Ontario Tornados

11 year old boy killed and several other children injured at a day camp Destroyed multiple buildings and homes Power lines down across the region Cell phone system out of service Fire paging system failed One reporter town overwhelmed by media

State of emergency declared which lasted several days EMO present every day for more than two weeks Premier arrived for a media tour Mayor called for a debriefing

Morning session for municipal and emergency services Afternoon session added local agencies –Hospital –Police Dispatch –Conservation Authority –Volunteer coordinators

Established the purpose of the debriefing –Improve the municipality’s capabilities in responding to future emergencies Not critical incident stress debriefing Pre-questions to consider

Was the municipal emergency plan in place appropriate / adequate? Was there an annual table top exercises? Was there any pre-warning / advanced notification? If so, how was it received and shared within the group?

Who made the decision to call the Emergency Control Group together? How was the decision communicated to the ECG team members? How effective was the communication between the site Incident Manager(s) and the Emergency Control Group? What back up communications are in place?

Was there a business cycle established? Was the ECG prepared to deal with the media? Was the message coordinated between agencies? Was the Emergency Operations Centre adequate for the purpose?

If this was a prolonged incident requiring 24 hour staffing over several days (e.g. ice storm of 1998) how would the ECG operate? What was one key lesson you learned from the experience?

Rules –Highlight the successes –Identify challenges but never pointing out individuals –Constructive comments only

Engaging the group – ask questions Everyone had opportunity to speak Chronological stories Who, Where, What, When, Why, How

Focused on IMS functions –Incident Manager –Operations –Planning –Logistics –Finance / Administration –Safety –Public Information –Liaison and inter-agency communications

Report looked at: –Initial actions – ECG notification, information flow –Initial EOC operations –EOC functionality (room, equipment, power, etc.) –IMS Functions –Volunteerism –Training –Recommendations

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